So sometime next month I plan to get a pair of bettas, maybe sooner depending on a few things.. Anyway I'm setting up the breeeding tank and the pairs tank tonight.

I have the breeding tank; a 10 gallon, spong filter and water wisteria that I will be putting in after I get the water going for about a week or so.

Questions on breeding tank -

How do I stop the ripple currect that the spong filter is creating? I fear when it is time, it will stop the male from making his bubble nest.

This tank is around 7 years old.. so the lid is not flat like the ones they make today. So would plastic wrap under the lid be ok? Or would that cause the plastic wrap to melt? Or anything dangerous? (thats my paranoid question of the day XD)

I noticed a couple minutes ago that my water wisteria has a small amount of algae on it.. If I cant get it all off without harming the plant would it harm the fry?

I read that when its time to start doing water changes that I need aged water. How would I get that? Would filling a Giant bucket with water and leave it for a couple days (with conditioner and a lid on it) work?

How soon should I get the frys food? I have bbs eggs, and hoping to get micro and walter worms off ebay. When should I order the worms? How soon to hatch bbs?

For the pairs tank, I figured I'd get a 10 gallon and divide it into two with a tank divider making that their permanate home. With lots of plants of course.

When conditioning the pair would keeping them in the 10 gallon still work? Or would it stress them out that they might be able to see eachother through the divider all the time? (if they can that is im not sure since its not clear..)

Sorry about the bombarding of questions. Trying to make sure im prepared BEFORE I even get the pair. I've been gathering everything together for around a couple months now :) If I'm missing anything please let me know!

If your getting a Microworm culture.
You should get it two week to month early.
You don't know how long it's going to take for the culture to establish
Plus It's easy to control the population If it bloom to quick.
Just harvest some to make another culture

When breeding the only thing I have on is a heater

With water change I have 2 five gallon bucket that fill with water.
Age them any where from two day to a week
Will it depend on the age of the fish
Older fish get higher percent water change

Me and plant don't go will with each other
The only thing I've can keep alive inside is duck weed, water sprite and small version of the water lettuce
With the last two I can't get them to grow

With your lid
Even with not a tight fit
All you need is, if it can
trap the humidity inside of the tank

Thanks, so most likely I need to get the micro and walter worms in the next couple days as soon as the money is proccessed through paypal.

So when is it best to put the sponge filter in? Or shouldnt I leave it running until its time for them to spawn and turn it off.. that way it will have all the good bacteria it needs when the fry come around :)

I could get buckets that big.. but they will have to stay covered. My cats LOVE playing in water.. as long as only their paw goes in. Talk about fustraiting!

Water westeria is the only plant that will live for me, and thats only if I leave it floating at the top. so all its roots are hanging down. Reminds me of frogbit actually.. except the actual plant is under water.

The reason I asked about the plastic wrap under the lid is because the lid wouldnt be able to hold the humidity in the tank. It has a big hole from where the filter was placed in years ago. Thats why I was wondering if maybe it would be ok to put the plastic wrap under it..

Yeah if your planning to breed soon.
It's always better to have two of the same culture running at the same time.
In case one crash or don't yield enough to feed your fry

Just run it for a couple of week before u add the fish in
Once u add them turn it off.
Personal I don't like the sponge filter cause of the pump.
To noise
You can turn it back on once the fry is about a week old with very low setting

If the hood can't do it job just remove it and warp the tank

Will I don't know covering it will help.
Just put the tub somewhere that your cat can't get to it

Without the hood there is no light.. I'd have to take a picture to explain how the hood of the tank was made.. It's on my to do list.

I eventually got use to the pump's noise but then I found out that if you put a sponge under it you wont hear anything. The trick is to get it to stay on the sponge.. lol I'm actually thinking about spliting the pump into two sponge filters that way I can have two in the tank but at a low speed.. (the sponges are small for a 10 gallon) Then when its time to replace one the other will still have the good bacteria in it.

Maybe I can keep the water outside.. I'm still trying to figure out how to set up a drip system for when its time to add water.. I might end up doing it the way my mother did it. Take a cup of water set it in floating for 15 minutes to make it room temp and put it in the take. Would take forever.. but I wouldnt be so paranoid about the temp difference...

Thats why I have it running right now. I'm not going to have the pair spawn until late next month since I havent even gotten them yet. So I have the tanks going through their cycle. :) But I did also put about half a gallon of water from an already cycled tank to help give it a little kick (not sure if it will do much or not though)

Of course when I was about to take pictures I find out the battery is dead.. so that will have to hold off. The roo light doesnt really get into it much since its on the bottom shelf of the table.. But they will only be there until they are ready to be moved to the grow out.

Maybe using the plant bulbs would work? Also does the cup method work well for you?